Freelance Resume: How to List Freelance Work on Your CV

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For people who hold down a 9-5 job, creating a CV is a fairly straightforward process. However, if you’ve been freelancing for a while, you may start to despair at how to list the multiple projects and jobs you’ve taken on in a manageable order to impress future employers. Learn how to list freelance work on a resume!

Many freelancers are frequently looking for new work, and your CV, therefore, needs to be constantly up-to-date and an excellent showcase of your skills and experience as a freelancer.

If you’ve been struggling to add your freelance work in your resume in a way that truly showcases what you can do, follow our tips here to really get your CV in shape:

Do you need a freelance resume?

If you have been freelancing alongside a full-time job, you may be tempted to leave your freelance work out of your resume altogether. 

However, you should only do this if you have ​not​ gained additional skills and experience in your role as a freelancer. If you have widened your skill set by freelancing, you may be shutting the door to potential opportunities by not letting employers know that via your CV. 

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Does freelancing count as work experience? Yes, freelancing does count as work experience!

On the other hand, if you have only been freelancing as your main source of income, you should definitely be listing this work on your CV. Not listing your freelance projects will look like an employment gap on your CV, which never looks good to potential employers. 

💡 Create multiple resumes

Many freelancers do more than just one specific type of freelance work. For example, you may have experience in both web development and web design.

In these cases, it may be worthwhile to create multiple CVs tailored towards the type of work you are applying for, e.g. development work, or design work.

Each CV should highlight your most significant experience in this niche and be tailored toward the type of employer to whom you are sending your CV.

You can then include any other experience as a freelancer, but be sure to look more experienced and more suitable for the specific role you are applying for rather than appearing to be a little all over the place with your work.

Creating multiple resumes is a time-consuming process, but it can really pay off if you want to target different freelance niches and boost your chances of success in each field.

Importance of a good freelance resume

When recruiters receive an application, the resume is the first document they look at. According to an eye-tracking study, recruiters scan a CV in just 7.4 seconds. If the resume doesn’t impress within this short time frame, it will be eliminated from the recruiting process. To capture their attention, you can use various attention grabbers.

How to list your freelance work on your resume

There are a few different ways you can effectively list your freelance work on your resume, and this is often dependent on your previous experience and how long you have been freelancing.

A few options you might like to consider:

#1 Chronologically

It is always a good idea to list your most recent experience at the top of your ‘Work’ section on your resume. You should include the company, the dates you worked for them, and a brief outline of your role and the responsibilities you had.

A chronological CV will list your experience in reverse-chronological order (from most recent to oldest). Formatting your CV this way is great if you have been working as a freelancer for several years and have held more long-term client contracts in a particular skill rather than picking up one-off projects here and there and for multiple types of work.

An example of a freelancer resume adding experience chronologically could look like this:

Company XYZ, London, UK
Senior Project Manager IT Jan 2023 to Jan 2024
Managed the full life cycle of an e-commerce enabling project, reporting to the program manager including stakeholder management. Cost management and change management using Clarity and MS-Project. Harnessed PMP methodologies while also overseeing product evaluations.

Company XYZ, Munich, Germany
Project ManagerMay 2022 – Nov 2022
Delivered International data center consolidation and relocation. Deployed new consulting packages for performance on z/OS z/series. Offered training courses in English and Dutch for end customers.

#2 Skillset

Less experienced freelancers may prefer to format their resume according to skillset. This is also applicable if you have done a lot of different types of freelance work such as social media, SEO, copywriting, web design, etc. 

If you list your freelance work according to skill, your resume might look something like the example below:

Social Media
List your freelance experience in social media, including the client name, dates worked, and key responsibilities.

Copywriting
List your experience, client name, dates worked, responsibilities, and link to work if relevant.

Keyword research
List your experience, client name, dates worked, responsibilities, and link to work if relevant.

If your freelance work is a little all over the place with projects showcasing a range of skills, ordering your resume this way will showcase all of your experience as a freelancer without confusing potential employers as to what you can actually offer as a freelancer.

#3 Combination

Finally, it can be a good idea to list your freelance work as a combination of work experience and skills.

In this case, you would list your work experience in reverse-chronological order (most recent first), and then include a separate ‘Skills’ section to highlight other types of work you have done in the past.

This is probably the most common, but it is all dependent on your resume’s specific needs.

Tips on how to add freelance work to resume

Tips for creating a killer freelancer CV

#1 Be ruthless 

Many freelancers, when first starting out, will take on lower-paying jobs in order to get a foot on the ladder. When listing your freelance work on your CV, it’s important to be ruthless and exclude any work that does not really showcase your skills as a freelancer.

This also applies to work you may have done at the beginning for free for family or friends. While this kind of work is great to put in your portfolio and on your resume when you are a new freelancer, you may want to remove this work from your CV once you have paying clients to replace it.

#2 Add metrics to prove your accomplishments

Add figures and percentages to show the great work you did for a particular client or on a particular period (if you can’t disclose any details about that particular client because you signed an NDA).

Positive metrics are always a good thing to add to your resume and that can get you hired.

An example for a writer freelance resume:

Oct, 2023 – Dec, 2023 – Freelancer copywriter and outreach specialist (client protected by NDA)

– Created a content plan and worked on 100+ articles that grew traffic by 40% from 250K to 350K page views/month.
– Ranked 50 pieces on positions 1 to 4 in Google
– Gained 60+ backlinks from relevant blogs and news sites

Or an example of a more IT-focused role:

Oct, 2023 – Dec, 2023 – Freelance IT manager, XYD Consulting

– Managed an IT project with budgets of $50,000 each
– Created customized software that automated the requirement-tracking for 100 programs
– Implemented Scrum methodology that saved 10 meeting hours per week per engineer
– Lead a team of 10 engineers
– All implementations earn additional $10,000 / month

#3 Show your work

As a freelancer, your work must speak for itself. Always include a link to your portfolio in your resume, directing potential employers to a showcase of your best work. 

While having an excellent CV is important, having a strong portfolio that demonstrates your skills as a freelancer should be your top priority when trying to find more work, as clients will directly see what you have done.

The CV is more like the icing on the cake!

#4 Sell your strengths

Listing “bare” strengths, such as “motivated and hard-working team player” or “good communications skills”, on a resume is probably the most common trap job seekers fall into. Unfortunately, it has exactly zero worth on your resume.

Consider telling a story when listing your strengths. Think about an example of how a certain skill helped you in your last job and try to condense it in one or two sentences. Backing those statements up increases their value immensely and reassures the recruiter that you’re not just trying to make yourself look better than you actually are.

#5 Adapt your CV accordingly

If you’re looking for a job or a contract, it is very likely that you’re sending out multiple resumes a day. It often seems easy to include pretty much the same information in all of them, but that approach can be a deal-breaker.

Job descriptions usually focus on certain aspects or skills potential candidates should have. Every resume you write should be concentrated on the exact points the employer is looking for. This also means cutting out irrelevant information. You might be proud of a certain achievement, but if it’s not really relevant to the job you’re currently applying for, you might as well leave it out.

This can be achieved, for example, by:

  • Using key terms from the job advertisement in your CV
  • Specifying experiences that match the desired skills
  • Highlighting positions that are really important for the job
  • Showcasing achievements to prove that you have mastered your craft

In order to stand out from other applicants, you can incorporate the company’s corporate design – i.e., the company colors – into your application. For example, if the company you are applying to has a blue design (logo, website, etc.), you could reflect this in design elements or fonts.

Companies are becoming more and more open to creative, modern CVs and applications. You can certainly dare to try something more creative. But you should not forget to focus on the actual benefit of the CV: your academic and professional background and your skills.

#6 Avoid clichés 

There are many overused phrases and sentences that you should steer clear of. Such clichés either have little to no meaning or just go without saying most of the time. “References available upon request” is one of these phrases. You’re not doing yourself a favor by wasting precious space in your resume to tell the recruiter something they already know – it’s not like you’re going to deny sending them references if they do get requested!

Describing yourself as “motivated” is another good example of a cliché that has little value. In order to avoid clichés, consider whether a certain word or phrase actually has some meaning that will help you get the job. If the answer is no, you probably want to cut it out, a recruiter is unlikely to read your whole resume, so you better make every sentence count.

#7 Proofread your CV

This may seem like an obvious tip but you would be surprised to learn just how many CVs contain spelling or grammatical errors

Make sure to always proofread your resumes. Spelling mistakes tell the recruiter that you didn’t put in those extra five to ten minutes of effort to double-check what you actually wrote. And if you’re not willing to do that you probably don’t deserve a shot at getting the job or contract, at least from the recruiter’s point of view.

Content and structure of a CV

A chronological CV has become popular primarily because of its clear structure. It helps recruiters and HR managers find all the important information about you immediately. Your contact details and professional experience in particular are extremely important. Therefore, when creating the CV, the main focus should be on your career and your last or current position.

The following information should be included in your CV:

Header area

  • First and last name
  • Birth date
  • Contact information (place of residence, email address, telephone number)
  • Application photo (not mandatory, but adds a personal touch)
  • Mention of the desired position (e.g. John Doe – Content Manager)

Don’t forget to include your LinkedIn profile in your contact details. If you already have a portfolio, for example on your own homepage, you can link it to your CV.

Main body

  • Professional background
  • Highest degree
  • Vocational training
  • Further training
  • Internships and semesters abroad
  • Hard skills and soft skills
  • Parental leave
  • Unemployment / Reorientation
  • Driver’s licence
Checklist of information to include in a CV

Until a few years ago, it was perfectly sufficient to simply state your professional career in bullet points. Today, you can clearly stand out from other applicants by using short descriptions instead of brief bullet points.

For example, instead of “Sales Manager Company XYZ,” you could write: “Managed a sales team of 15 people, developed training programs, and increased sales by 30% within a year.”

As long as the information is true, recruiters can quickly get an overview of the previous positions and immediately see whether the potential candidate has leadership qualities and technical know-how.

Formal requirements for a CV

It is important that all personal information, as well as your professional background and qualifications, are correct and part of the content. But your outward appearance is just as important – even the smallest spelling or other formal error can prevent you from progressing a step further in the application process.

1. Clarity and structure

  • Clear structure: A good CV should be divided into well-structured sections, such as personal data, professional experience, education, skills, and other relevant sections (e.g. further training, voluntary work).
  • Consistent layout: When creating your CV, it is essential to use a consistent font, such as Arial. The font size should only be larger for headings (up to 14 pt), otherwise 11 or 12 pt.

2. Length

  • Number of pages: Your CV should only be longer than one page if you have more than five years of professional experience – depending on the scope of the position. Even if you have more experience, your CV should never be longer than two pages.

3. Formal correctness

  • Spelling and grammar: Your CV should be error-free. Spelling and grammatical errors look unprofessional. If possible, have friends or family members proofread it.
  • Complete data: Make sure that the data is complete and correct. It would be a shame if the recruiter couldn’t invite you to an interview because of a typo.

4. Design

  • Less is more: A simple and attractive design is often the best choice for your CV to make it through recruiting systems. However, for unsolicited applications, you can make it as eye-catching as possible.

5. Relevance

  • Latest information up front: Your CV should always be up to date and adapted to the latest experience and skills.
Formal requirements for a resume - Tips to create a CV

Gap in your CV?

A gap in your CV is when the time off from work lasts longer than two months and is not justified. Any longer than 2 months and the gap is then critically questioned by HR staff and requires an explanation. 

Justify the career break

It is important that the gap is filled. If you have been in continuous employment, have completed vocational training or a degree, further training or an internship during this time, you can simply state this so that no gap arises. 

An extended holiday of up to four weeks is also no reason to worry, because if it is between two jobs, graduating or starting a career, it is not a gap in that sense. 

If you are looking for a new career and are taking a six to eight week break, this is also a reason that can be stated without any issues.

However, if the gap exceeds the time off from work, it should be clearly explained. If there are one or more gaps, HR staff will assume that you are unemployed, have changed jobs a lot, are unstable and have dropped out of work. That doesn’t make a good first impression.

Gaps in your CV are not bad, they just have to be well justified.

Closing gaps in your CV

If there are gaps, they should be filled in sensibly, credibly and truthfully. HR staff can understand time off if it is explained.

Change of study / dropout

This is the case, for example, when you are changing courses. Changing from one subject to another, e.g. from business administration to business information technology, automatically creates a gap. For example, if you want to change in the middle of the semester (July) and can only start again in the fall semester.

Nevertheless, the waiting time should be used sensibly. For example, you could complete internships or volunteer. Dropping out of university is not a gap if you actively look for alternatives. An appropriate formulation in this case would be, for example:  “XY degree, simultaneous internship at XY GmbH”.

Career entry

Career starters have an extended grace period of up to six months. HR managers know that starting a job is a long process and most graduates are not satisfied with the first job offer. Nevertheless, the time should be used appropriately during this phase. The transition period should best be filled with internships, practical days or further training.

Pandemic / difficult job search

The pandemic has led to hiring freezes and short-time work in countless industries, making it more difficult to find a job. Of course, HR managers know this too, which is why a “corona gap” is known and accepted. In this case, something like “job cuts due to the corona pandemic” should be stated on the CV.

Illness / care of a sick family member

A long illness should not be kept secret. This is also the case if a family member is ill and needs care. Of course, further details about the illness do not need to be given. 

However, the period of time during which the illness was absent should be stated. It should also be mentioned that the employee can now concentrate fully on their job again. For example: “Time off for health reasons, now fully recovered and ready to work” or “Caring for a seriously ill mother”.

(Short) unemployment

Periods of unemployment should also be stated truthfully. However, it is important to describe what was done to combat unemployment. For example, you could talk about a “professional reorientation” or “further training in…”.

If the unemployment is for a longer period , it is better to specify it as a “job seeker” in the CV. It is also important that measures are taken to combat unemployment. The time off work should therefore be used for further training, internships or social commitment in order to convince potential employers that you have newly acquired skills. 

Further training on your own initiative also promotes career advancement. Your CV should not give the impression that you are resting on your laurels while you are unemployed.

Lastly, remember, no lies! Gaps are part of almost every professional career and are usually justified. Plus, false information in your CV is grounds for dismissal and can easily be avoided. In most cases, HR staff are understanding of career breaks, so you should stick to the truth.

Most common types of gaps in a resume

Why you should create your freelance resume using only a text program

Special caution is needed with creative or modern resumes because nowadays, when you send an application, it no longer lands on the recruiter’s desk as it did with traditional application folders. Digitally sent applications end up in specialized recruiting software and are automatically read by so-called CV parsers.

Such “CV parsing software” can read text and recognize specific keywords and numbers, for example:

  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Phone number
  • Place of residence or address
  • Foreign languages
  • Hard and soft skills
  • And much more

As mentioned, these tools are smart enough to recognize text, but many struggle with images and graphics. The most they can handle is the application photo. However, when shapes like circles, stars (e.g., for rating systems of skills or languages), or other forms and boxes are used, the CV parser can no longer read these elements.

If you still want to use a creative resume, you should create it using a text program like Microsoft Word or Open Office. Graphic tools like Adobe or Canva offer many templates and make the CV look more polished. However, they also increase the risk that the resume won’t pass through the text recognition program and, therefore, won’t reach the recruiter.

Freelance resume example – Listing freelance work

With all of the information we’ve seen, let’s see how a complete freelancer resume could look like.

This is an example that you could use and adapt to your particular freelance work experience:

Freelance experience in CV – Download template in Word

Freelance CV example
Freelance CV Example

FAQs

How do you create a CV correctly today?

A modern CV should be clearly structured, clear and concise. It should contain personal details, professional experience, education, skills and relevant additional information. A professional layout and error-free spelling are both also essential.

What should be included in a CV for young professionals?

A CV for young professionals should include personal information, educational background, internships, part-time jobs, relevant projects, IT and language skills, and volunteer work.

What should be included in a CV for experienced professionals?

For experienced professionals, in addition to personal data and education, detailed professional experience, acquired skills, further training, professional achievements and certificates should be listed.

How to create a professional resume?

A professional CV is characterised by a clear structure, consistent formatting and relevant content. Concise descriptions, the use of keywords from the job advertisement and an attractive, simple design are also important.

What can you leave out of a CV?

You can safely do without irrelevant main and part-time jobs, outdated computer skills, hobbies that have no connection to the job and general phrases. In many countries, a photo is also no longer mandatory.

How do you create a good CV?

A good-looking CV uses clear fonts (e.g. Arial), sufficient white space and a consistent colour scheme. A structured outline and visual separations between sections is also important to increase readability. 

In addition, too many symbols and graphics should be avoided because CV parsing tools cannot read such elements.

How many employers do you have to list on your CV?

You should list all relevant employers that are relevant to the position you are applying for. If you have a lot of professional experience, you should focus on the last 10-15 years.

What must be included in the CV?

The CV must include personal data, professional experience, education, skills and knowledge, any further training and certificates, as well as current contact details.


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Stefania Volpe

Stefania joined the international team at freelancermap in 2020. She loves marketing, the digital world, foreign languages and meeting different cultures. She moved from Italy to Germany thanks to an exchange program at the university and worked as marketing manager for several startups. Now she focuses on helping freelancers and IT professionals to find jobs and clients worldwide at www.freelancermap.com.

By Stefania Volpe

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